Experts Fear Trump Has Turned Reflecting Pool Into a 'Giant Duck Death Trap'
"Instead of letting this administration’s bizarre boondoggle keep killing innocent ducks, I hope the Fish and Wildlife Service steps in to do its job," said one critic.
President Donald Trump's disastrous $14 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool may be turning deadly for local wildlife.
Shortly after three ducks were discovered dead in or near the pool, The Washington Post spoke on Monday with animal experts who expressed concern that the waterfowl could have fallen ill due to either the assorted chemicals that have been dumped into the pool in recent weeks or the potentially toxic cyanobacteria that can be found in algae blooms.
A separate investigation published by the Post last week found that “algae levels spiked days after Trump’s renovation" of the pool was completed and reached their highest level in at least five years.
Additionally, multiple news outlets have documented blue material installed in the pool peeling off and floating to the surface of the water.
April Linton, president of City Wildlife, told the Post that she's worried the ducks "could have had exposure to the Reflecting Pool," which "could be something related to peeling paint or algae."
The Center for Biological Diversity on Tuesday called on the US Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct an investigation to determine whether the president's pricey pool renovation was responsible for the ducks' passing.
The center also noted that, if someone is found to be responsible for the ducks' deaths, they could be charged criminally under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Tara Zuardo, senior campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, said that Trump's pool renovations killing the ducks would match a pattern of actions that are "cruel, stupid, and selfish."
"Wasting taxpayer money turning the reflecting pool into a giant duck death trap just in time for America’s 250th birthday party is as Trump as it gets," Zuardo said. “Instead of letting this administration’s bizarre boondoggle keep killing innocent ducks, I hope the Fish and Wildlife Service steps in to do its job and protect America’s wildlife."
Trump has tried to blame any problems with the pool renovations on left-wing saboteurs, whom he alleged sliced up the pool with "knives" in "the dark of night."
But according to a Tuesday report in The New York Times, internal government documents show that National Park Service workers had discovered problems with the pool's renovations just days after their completion and weeks before any supposed vandalism of the project had occurred.
Among other things, the Times reported, the workers observed "holes, cracks, and peeling caulking in parts of the pool, along with cuts in sections of the foam," even as Trump was personally crowing about the quality of renovations.
"I’m very good at building things and constructing things," Trump said on June 15, six days after issues with the Reflecting Pool were first documented by workers.
A video posted by meteorologist Chris Gloninger in a Wednesday social media post showed members of the National Guard, whom Trump deployed in Washington, DC against the wishes of local residents last year, patrolling the pool and asking visiting children to stop putting their hands into the pool waters.
The President of the United States deployed the National Guard… to stop kids from splashing in the reflecting pool.
Not the troops' fault…they follow orders.
But what the fu*k are we doing here? pic.twitter.com/5PFlEDiTvj
— Chris Gloninger, CCM, CBM (@ChrisGloninger) June 24, 2026
"Not the troops' fault... they follow orders," Gloninger commented. "But what the fuck are we doing here?"
